Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPD) and Shin Nippon Biomedical Laboratories (SNBL) have formed a joint venture to provide clinical development services in Japan.

With the completion of the deal, PPD-SNBL is one of the largest clinical development service providers in Japan, both for clients seeking to conduct global clinical trials and for trials based solely in Japan.

The new company combines SNBL’s clinical research division and PPD’s clinical development operations in Japan and provides a full range of services, including Phase I-IV clinical trial monitoring, project management, biostatistics, site intelligence and activation, data management, medical writing, pharmacovigilance, regulatory and FSP services.

With offices in Tokyo, Osaka and Kagoshima, and approximately 400 clinical development professionals, the new company brings together PPD’s global resources and clinical trial expertise with SNBL’s nearly 20-year history and in-depth knowledge of providing clinical development services for biopharmaceutical companies in Japan.

PPD and SNBL also agreed to collaborate in a number of areas outside the clinical development joint venture. Those areas comprise SNBL’s early stage businesses, including translational research out-licensing business, Phase I services in the U.S. for Japanese bridging studies, specialized neuroscience studies, vaccines studies and biologic studies, Phase I services in Japan, Japanese bioanalysis services and site management services in Japan.

“PPD-SNBL provides biopharmaceutical clients the best of both worlds for their research programs involving Japan; PPD’s global capabilities, systems and processes combined with SNBL’s depth of clinical knowledge and scope in Japan,” said Paul Colvin, executive vice president of clinical development at PPD and chairman and chief executive officer of PPD-SNBL. “The joint venture positions PPD at the forefront of the CRO industry in Japan and creates a compelling offering for our clients.”

Ryoichi Nagata, chairman and president of SNBL and president of PPD-SNBL, said the joint venture reflects the corporate cultures of both PPD and SNBL, which share a focus on quality delivery and customer service. “PPD-SNBL offers clients a unique opportunity to leverage our combined deep clinical research expertise in Japan and global clinical trial experience and infrastructure,” he said.
Under the terms of the agreement, PPD-SNBL is majority-owned by PPD.